Mitsui Chemicals To Raise Capital

Mitsui Chemicals hopes to raise $720 million in new shares to help it cope with the downturn in the Japanese chemical industry and finance the construction of plants in China. The company recorded a net loss of $1 billion in the fiscal year that ended March 31 and $350 million in this year’s first half. The company is investing in a $660 million phenol plant in Shanghai with partner Sinopec (C&EN, Nov. 9, page 24) and a polyurethane facility in the south of China. In Japan, Mitsui will expand its production capacity for specialty materials such as α-olefin copolymers and lithium-ion battery electrolytes.